Croc swims across canal on pool noodle

SURE, there's a leadership crisis reaching fever pitch in the Australian Government today, but the real news is a crocodile crossed a canal using a pool noodle.

The creature was caught on camera earlier this month resting on the pool noodle as it swam across the water in the canal in Key Largo, Florida.

"I saw the croc off my balcony swimming up the canal," local Victor Perez told Fox News on Wednesday.

"My first thought was, 'What happened to the person that was on the noodle?'"

At first, Mr Perez said he didn't see the large reptile. The floating device appeared to be drifting away in the water behind his home.

All that croc needs now is a swim-up bar and a pina colada. Picture: vfpkeys/Instagram

"It was just cruising along, and I was like, 'OK, where's the swimmer?'" Mr Perez repeated to the Miami Herald, clearly rapt with his own gag.

But when he took a closer look, Mr Perez saw a dark brownish-green figure and quickly realised it was a crocodile.

The Key Largo resident ran to grab his phone and snapped pictures of the unusual sight. He posted a photo of the crocodile to Instagram on August 6 and received hundreds of likes.

"I don't know how he got that thing, but he looked like just any typical Florida tourist!" Mr Perez riffed.

Alligator photographed swimming across a canal with a pool noodle in Florida. Picture: vfpkeys/Instagram

South Florida is the only place in the US where both American alligators and American crocodiles exist, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

The creatures may look alike at first glance, but upon closer inspection you'll notice a crocodile has a narrower snout, a lighter colouring and a longer, more muscular tail. They also have a shyer nature than alligators.

A largely unrelated photo of a man who has used bungee rope and a pool noodle to aid his swimming training. His dog is wildly impressed.

"Crocodiles … are rare and secretive creatures that inhabit coastal, brackish and saltwater habitats," the NPS explains on its website.

According to gossip magazines, Nick Nolte is also a fan of the pool noodle.

"Although the aggressive reputation earned by the American crocodile's distant, larger, man-eating cousins in Australia and Africa may inspire fear of crocodiles inhabiting the Everglades, conflict with humans rarely occurs because of the shy nature of American crocodiles."